Happy birthday, Hashtag

Ten years ago Twitter had this brilliant idea to create virtual file folders so users could search for specific content. Boom—-the birth of the hashtag. It has become a ubiquitous (and at times notorious) form of communication with people even saying it out loud during parties and photo opportunities. Social Media is now engrained in our daily lives and is inculcated into our children- #noescape.

We’ve seen some pretty good ones over the last decade. From the #LikeAGirl campaign to #DontKillSeanBean, the hashtags varied from marketing initiatives to people who really loved dogs. (#dogsoftwitter)

The evolvement of social media as being a “fun way to talk to each other” to something that is worth literal billions has shocked and surprised us all. I never wanted to put too much stock into it because I was certain the platforms would disappear as quickly as they emerged.

While I still believe it’s a possibility, I’m drinking my coffee this morning with a large slice of humble pie.

Social media is now officially part of 96% of major businesses’ strategy for lead generation. There are over 330 million active Twitter accounts and as of 2016, about 66% of US companies that have 100 employees or more use Twitter for marketing. There must be something to this social media stuff, right?

As a marketer, it’s part of my job to convince my team and my company that having a stake in the social media race is important for multiple reasons: it’s critical to show the world we have a voice and that there are living, breathing, human beings at the helm behind the logo but it’s also important in our industry to actually talk to and listen to people. Social platforms quickly became a way for businesses to sell their products, clouding the channels with advertisements and links to items for sale. Remember when posts were pithy comments or insightful observations? Without links? Oh, times they have changed.

Everyone has problems and as a company that provides solutions, it’s our responsibility to solve them. We often share our free tools through social, but our goal is to actively engage with the community in a way that is less “salesy” and more communicative. Maybe you’ve seen a few of our own hashtags: #MVPMonday,#1EMVPchat, #StayCurrent, and #TachyonTuesday.

We are active participants on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and Facebook– and perhaps you’ll see our hashtags (with a few new others) popping up on those channels. And maybe you’ll create one of your own or even request one with relevant content. Got an idea? We’re all ears.